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D095 News / Committee / Bio - Vanessa Guerra

Rep. Vanessa Guerra is serving her second term representing Michigan’s 95th House District, which includes the cities of Saginaw and Zilwaukee and Bridgeport, Buena Vista, Carrollton, James, Kochville, Spaulding and Zilwaukee townships in Saginaw County. Rep. Guerra serves on the House Law and Justice and Judiciary committees, and is the Democratic vice chair for the House Elections and Ethics committee.

Vanessa’s commitment and passion to bring positive change to the 95th is rooted in her deep connections to this area. Born and raised in Bridgeport Township, she credits her diverse community and the hardworking teachers and staff of the Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District for preparing her for her success at the University of Michigan, where she double majored in Latino Studies and Political Science.

From an early age, the importance of both social equality and education has been impressed upon Vanessa. Her great-great grandfather, Reuben Garcia, was a founder of La Union Civica, an organization that promotes civil rights and education for members of the Saginaw Latino community. After college, Vanessa has continued that legacy through her work with the American GI Forum, where she was active in raising money for and distributing scholarships to assist Latino youth in pursuing their academic dreams. She also provided guidance to local youth on how to achieve their educational and career goals through her work as an academic advisor at Delta College.

Recognizing that she could do more to assist our youth by improving the community as a whole, Vanessa ran for Bridgeport Township Trustee in 2012. During the summer of 2013, she served as a Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan Intern in the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office, and later served as a volunteer advocate for victims of domestic violence in the Third Judicial Circuit Court in fall 2013. She graduated from the school of law at the University of Detroit Mercy with her Juris Doctorate in December of 2016.